P R E S S K I T

A stop motion animation about a twelve year old girlwhose world has just changed forever.

A Film Victoria Short Film Fund Production

Written & Directed by Van Sowerwine

Animated by Isobel KnowlesProduced by Philippa Campey

Production Company & International Sales:Film Camp Pty Ltd

Level 1, 179 Johnston Street FITZROYVICTORIA 3065, AUSTRALIA

Tel: 61 3 9419 0140 Fax: 61 3 9417 7336Contact: pcampey@bigpond.net.au

http://www.vansowerwine.com/clara

© Film Victoria and Film Camp 2004

PRODUCTION NOTES

Writer & Director Van SowerwineAnimator Isobel KnowlesProducer Philippa CampeyProduction Company Film Camp Pty Ltd

Gauge: Super 16mmFormat: Digital BetacamRatio: 16:9 Letterbox (4:3 Safe area)Picture: ColourSound: Dolby DigitalDuration: 7 minutes (exactly 6 mins, 53 seconds)

LOG LINE

A stop motion animation about a twelve year old girl whose world has justchanged forever.

SYNOPSIS

Struggling with a massive change in her life, 12-year-old Clara is disoriented andconfused. Her efforts to remedy the situation and make sense of her new worldare thwarted when flowers attack her and ants invade her home. Her enchantedchildhood has changed forever and now things will never be the same.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

CLARA slips under the veneer of suburban normality of Clara's lifeinto the depths of her feelings of loss, grief and anger.

There is a point in most of our lives when we begin to realise that terrible thingscan happen, and that nothing is permanent. This is particularly evident when weare confronted with death at an early age.

CLARA is a very personal story for me, a story that resonates many of my ownexperiences as I made the transition from childhood to adolescence. It is also astory about the terrible pain that we all can experience at any time in our lives.Ultimately, it is a story about both the resilience in all of us when confronted withterrible pain, and the beauty and terrible sadness that surrounds us at all times.

I have always been fascinated with stop motion animation. I feel it has a certainmagical quality to it. I first became interested in using stop motion animation toanimate plastic dolls I collected – I found myself drawn to particular dolls,around which I would develop a narrative that I would then animate. I thenbegan sculpting my own animated characters as I became more interested increating worlds that are a blend of the real and the magical.

This has culminated for me in the creation of CLARA, the first fully fundedanimation production I have written and directed. CLARA is set in Melbourne inthe present day, and the sets are very realistic copies of parks and houses nearwhere I live. Clara herself is made of silicon, a material that looks flesh-like,adding to the sense of realism in the film.

The realism in the film is juxtaposed with the strange and terrible things thathappen to Clara. For me, this juxtaposition mirrors the precariousness of ourexistence – while we may exist in a happy, ‘normal’ world, terrible and strangethings can happen to any of us at any time. At all times we are surrounded byand cannot escape death; this does not prevent us from also finding beauty andhappiness in life.

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY - VAN SOWERWINE

Van Sowerwine is an animator and new media artist who works across the areasof stop motion animation, interactives, miniatures and comics. Her work exploresideas of childhood and its darker underpinnings, and Van has exhibited widelyboth nationally and internationally.

Her previous animation, Gillian, was highly commended in the 2001 DendyAwards as part of the Sydney Film Festival, and won Best Animation at theNational Student Film and Video festival. It was screened at NewFest 2003: the15th Anniversary New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

Van also incorporates stop motion animation into her installation practice. Hermost recent animated installation (with CLARA animator Isobel Knowles)Expecting is touring around Australia in 2004/2005 as part of the Experimenta:House of Tomorrow exhibition. Her previous interactive Play With Me (2002) wasselected for the inaugural Ann Landa Award (2004/2005) at the Art Gallery ofNew South Wales - the first award-exhibition for the moving image and newmedia in Australia. Both interactives Expecting and Play With Me have also beshown as part of Media City Seoul 2004, the Korean biennale of new media art.

PRODUCER'S BIOGRAPHY - PHILIPPA CAMPEY

Philippa graduated from RMIT's Master of Arts (Communication) in 2003, with amajor in cinema and has worked in Melbourne's film & television industry for thelast six years. While working in the production offices of features films,documentaries and television dramas, Philippa has also been engaged with thescreen cultural side of the industry, working at the Australian Film Institute, theMelbourne Cinémathèque, and the Melbourne International Film Festival. Shealso writes occasional articles for screen journals such as Senses of Cinema andwas a contributor to IF magazine.

Philippa's other recent producing credits include The Art of War (4 episodes of arthistory by Betty Chucher and John Hughes, for SBS), Open Cut (an experimentaldocumentary by Phil Burke), The Bullet Seller (a one-hour documentary for SBSabout Iraq, 2004) and ARTV (16 x 30 second video interstitials for ACMI and SBSmade by 16 of Australia's best contemporary artists).

KEY CREATIVES' BIOGRAPHIES

ISOBEL KNOWLES - ANIMATOR

Isobel Knowles is an animator who lives and works in Melbourne. Isobelcompleted a Bachelor of Media Arts at RMIT in 2001. Inspiration for her workcomes from arcade games, children’s book illustrations and film noir, and heranimations explore a range of techniques including cut-outs, drawing and stopmotion animation.

Isobel’s recent works include Expecting, an interactive installation made incollaboration with Van Sowerwine for Experimenta: House of Tomorrow,September 2003, and Like a Call, an animated music clip for Architecture inHelsinki, April 2003. Isobel has also exhibited at West Space Gallery as part ofthe 2004 Next Wave Festival. (See ik.rocks.it)

JENNIFER SOCHACKYJ - SOUND DESIGNER

Jennifer Sochackyj works across Soundtrack, Sound Installation and liveperformance. Jennifer completed a Master of Arts Degree at Media Arts RMIT in2001.

CASSANDRA TYTLER - EDITOR

Cassandra Tytler has been producing and directing films and videos since 1994.Her work explores contemporary cultural iconography, idealised reality andrealised fantasy. She completed her Masters degree in Media Arts in 2003. Herwork has been screened in numerous festivals including Microcinema all over theU.S.A., Raindance in London and Kurtzfilm in Vienna, and she has exhibited workin Melbourne galleries such as Gertrude Contemporary Art spaces and WestspaceGallery. (See ctytler.customer.netspace.net.au)

SCOTT EBDON - MODEL MAKER

Scott Ebdon works as a model maker and armature maker specialising in stopmotion animation. He originally trained as a jeweller, and now specialises inbuilding ball and socket armatures. He works in a wide variety of materials andmediums including wood, metal, plastics, polyester/epoxy resins andpolyeurathanes.

He has worked on many animated films and television series including Plasmo,Slim Pickings, Bad Baby Amy and Dad's Clock as well as television commercialsfor Maltesers, Kraft Peanut Butter, Yogo and Cadbury.

CREDITSWritten and Directed by Van Sowerwine

Animated by Isobel KnowlesProduced by Philippa Campey

Director of Photography Jon BilingtonAdditional D.O.P. Isobel KnowlesSound Designer Jennifer Sochackyj

Model & Armature Maker Scott EbdonEditor Cassandra Tytler

Character Creation & Wardrobe Fiona EdwardsOriginal Character Drawings George Stasjic

Character Design & Sculpt Van SowerwineAdditional Model Makers* Glen Hunwick & Rob Gudan

Stills Photographer Cameron BirdPost Production Animation Isobel Knowles

Visual Effects John Brawleyv:media

Titles and Additional Effects Van SowerwineColourist Justin Heitman

FCP Post Production Chris DeaPost Production Supervisor Penelope Teal

Digital Pictures MelbourneSound Mixer Robert Mackenzie

Sound Mix Facility Soundfirm Pty LtdFacility Liaison Clare Carmody

Foley Artist Isobel KnowlesStudio 179 Film Offices

Super 16 Camera Hire Blue Crow ProductionsLaboratory Cinevex Film Laboratories

Production Accountant Monika GehrtLegals Shaun Miller

Marshalls & Dent LawyersThanks to

Everyone at 179 Film OfficesAnthea Caddy

Martine Corompt

Philip BrophyMelanie CoombsJeremy Dower

Adam ElliotCamilla Hannan

Madeleine GriffithNick Hilligoss

John Hughes Liz HughesSam Jinks

Carmel McAloonBriony Ridley

Alistair RobbieRodney Shar

Dennis Tupicoff

Haima MarriotKris MrksaRMIT Media ArtsCharlotte SeymourSam SowerwineChris Zwar

Special thanks to Glen Art Productions

A Film Victoria Short Film Fund Production

Special Thanks to

© Film Victoria and Film Camp 2004